This article just goes to show that killing pain is sometimes as simple as raising a fork to your mouth. Pain relief can actually come in the form of food, because of certain ingredients. To open up this realm of pain relief, we’ve put together a small buffet, a smorgasbord if you will, of foods that can actually fight pain. Delicious!
1. For Gout: Cherries
Gout, the painful inflammation that most often afflicts men and focuses on the feet, is caused by an overabundance of “uric acid” in the blood stream. Uric acid is made from “purines,” which are found in your diet in such places as beer, red meats, organ meats, shellfish, fried food and caffeine.
The kidney is responsible for excreting uric acid, but sometimes there is too much for it to filter. It then gets dumped — typically in your extremities — in the form of “crystals.”
Along with usual treatments to relieve the pain of gout, you could try cherries. Cherries naturally lower the level of uric acid in the blood, thus helping both cast gout away and prevent it entirely.
An ingredient in tart cherries, “anthocyanin,” also has been linked to pain relief by Michigan researchers.
2. For Joint Pain: Curry
If your joints are in pain, grab yourself a curry dish. Curry contains turmeric, a colorful powder, whose central ingredient is “curcumin.” This substance has been proven to act as an anti-inflammatory and even a pain reliever.
One study out of Cornell University found that curcumin directly inhibited the activity of the “COX-2” protein that plays a role in transmitting pain signals. There are expensive drugs that do this.
Further evidence into curcumin’s natural ability to inhibit COX-2 safely came when a study in California found that it stopped growth of colon-cancer cells and reduced the expression of COX-2.
On the flip side, turmeric makes curry a double weapon, because it may reduce pain and inflammation by cutting down the production of “prostaglandins” in the body. These are inflammatory chemicals. Some physicians even use the turmeric plant specifically to treat rheumatoid arthritis.
3. For Cramps & Joint Pain: Lemons
The tangy fruit is high in an essential oil called “limonene. This substance helps stimulate the flow of lymph fluid in the body, which makes it a good natural remedy for cramps.
Lemon can also be used on your skin for joint-pain relief. Its citrus peel is very potent in essential oils: scrape the peel and rub it onto your joints and muscles, allowing the oils to settle in. You may find that it brings soothing joint pain relief and reduces inflammation.
The best type of lemons to buy are relatively small (but still heavy for their size), shiny and have a smooth yellow skin. They are compact, but are loaded with limonene. Always choose heavier lemons.
4. For Joint Pain: Fish
Two words: “omega” and “three.” Fish, along with its oil, is extremely high in omega-3 fatty acids. These are proven to reduce painful symptoms of many types of arthritis. Omega-3s help preserve cell structure and act as anti-inflammatories.
Fish oil is so good, in fact, that some research has been done to see if it could be a stand-alone therapy for rheumatoid arthritis. This might be pushing it, but the oil is almost a surefire remedy to take down inflammation pain.
5. For Muscle Cramps & Pain: Chamomile Tea
Chamomile is the most soothing tea out there. It is believed to be effective in relieving muscle tension, nerve pain and even menstrual cramps in women. It is like sipping a kind of liquid yoga — it relaxes your muscles and calms a nervous stomach. Its main pain-control method is to relax the body and thus begin to let the pain slowly dissipate. Stress causes muscle tension, and that equals discomfort.
How You Keep Your Bones Strong
Osteoporosis is Preventable: Start Now
Anyone can get osteoporosis. Many men mistakenly believe that this is a disease that affects only women. Not them, because men have stronger, less fragile bodies. This is a myth.
The numbers go something like this: osteoporosis hits about eight million women and two million men at any given time in the U.S. What’s more is that another 18 million people have poor bone density, which means they are at high risk of soon adding to those osteoporosis numbers.
What we all need to keep in mind is that our bones can deteriorate. They need specific nutrients that we should all pay close attention to. We can prevent osteoporosis more easily than we think. We just need to help ourselves. This article will show you the best ways to shield your body from this huge health problem and keep your bones strong and healthy.
The Target
It might be hard to envision, but our bones are alive. They are not hard, lifeless things akin to concrete poles or the metal beams that hold up scaffolding — instead, bone is complex, living tissue.
Among their many functions, bones store 99% of the calcium in your body. There is more calcium in your body than any other mineral, and nearly all of it is in your bones. That calcium keeps the bones strong and supportive of the muscles and ligaments that cling to them.
The reason that calcium is so often mentioned by nutritionists is because it’s vital to have the right amount of this mineral throughout your life — at any age. Because bones are constantly changing, they are much affected by diet and exercise. Up until the age of 30 or so, we can build bones pretty effectively. As we age, though, our bones naturally begin to break down more quickly than new bone is formed.
And then it begins: gradual bone loss. Calcium helps form new bones, thus this mineral becomes more and more important as you age and as your body needs more help with this.
Despite our knowledge of calcium, osteoporosis continues to run rampant in society. When bones lose density, they start deteriorating — and the risk of injuries and bone fractures escalates. For this reason, osteoporosis is very dangerous, especially considering that millions of people have it but don’t know it. It stays silent, with few visible symptoms, until something breaks.
Debilitating fractures most commonly strike the hip, spine and wrist. They can be very serious, requiring hospitalization and surgery, causing disability and even death.
Causes and risk factors include the following:
• Calcium deficiency
• Certain diseases
• Certain medications
• Family history of osteoporosis
• Losing weight suddenly
• Menopause
• Older age
• Sedentary lifestyle
• Smoking
The Nutrients
Calcium
This goes without saying. If your level of calcium doesn’t offset the bone loss as you grow older, osteoporosis is the consequence. Supplements are proven to prevent bone loss, slow down the erosion and, in some cases, even reverse the situation.
A decade ago, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) drew into law a label to be put on foods in order to spread the word. It read: “Adequate calcium intake throughout life is linked to reduced risk of osteoporosis through the mechanism of optimizing peak bone mass during adolescence and early adulthood and decreasing bone loss later in life.”
Some believe that if you add some other trace minerals (such as copper, zinc and manganese), the outcome with respect to osteoporosis will be better. There have been innumerable studies carried out, and regardless of what other supplements or drugs are involved, the calcium link to osteoporosis remains unbreakable and undeniable.
People — men or women, it doesn’t matter — between 19 and 50 need 1,000 milligrams (mg) a day. For those over 50, it rises to 1,200 mg a day. An important point to consider is that your body can only absorb up to 500 mg of calcium at any given time, so divide a dose up into two or three a day.
You can, of course, find calcium in food. It’s found in all things dairy, as well as in tofu, salmon, spinach, fortified breakfast cereal, sardines, kale and turnip greens.
Vitamin D
This is the second-most important nutrient for bone strength. Women with low levels of vitamin D could experience very bad osteoporosis. You should take vitamin D along with calcium, because it amplifies the mineral’s effect, further helping prevent osteoporosis and slowing down bone loss.
The good news is that supplementing with both calcium and vitamin D can slow down the condition and even reverse it altogether. Supplements can reduce the amount of bone fractures by increasing the density of your bones, making them difficult to break.
Last year, a major study concluded that if older adults supplement with vitamin D, they’ll reduce the risk of falls and injuries. With further studies into the precise dose and type of vitamin D — as well as the role of calcium — researchers found that the risk of falls can be cut by more than 20%.
You need 200 micrograms (mcg) a day if you’re under 50, 400 mcg a day if you’re between 51 and 70 and 600 mcg a day if you’re over 70.
Vitamin D is found in many “fortified” foods now, such as dairy products and cereals.
B Vitamins
Now, this is a lesser known one that we want to let you in on. Folate, B6 and B12 are known to reduce levels of “homocysteine,” an amino acid that is tied to heart problems. New research says that it doubles the risk of osteoporosis and bone fractures, too. One study out of Harvard found that men with high homocysteine levels were four times more likely to fracture a hip, and women at high levels were twice as likely.
A brand new study from Japan found that folate and B12 are effective ways to reduce the risk of hip fractures. They gave five mg of folic acid and 1,500 mcg of vitamin B12 to 314 stroke patients. Then they compared the effects to 314 other patients who received only placebo (a sugar pill that does nothing). Tracking the patients for two years, they discovered that only eight hip fractures occurred in the vitamin group. In the placebo group, there were 32. Also, those taking folic acid and B12 had a 38% decrease in homocysteine levels, while the placebo group, incredibly, had a 31% increase in these levels.
Soy Isoflavones
These natural substances help prevent bone loss. In a year-long study, 90 women got “genistein” — an “isoflavone” — at 54 mg/day. It actually prevented bone loss in the back and hip to the same degree as the commonly used hormone replacement therapy. If you’re at high risk of osteoporosis, these might be a good idea.
Women should consider increasing their intake of soy products, which can be found easily in virtually every grocery store.
Vitamin K
There have been a few revealing studies of vitamin K being important for osteoporosis. One came in the form of the huge “Nurses Health Study” of nearly 13,000 women. Researchers found that those who had more vitamin K in their diets had a far reduced chance of sustaining a fractured hip. It seems women who ate lettuce on a daily basis were 55% less likely to suffer a hip fracture.
The study identified iceberg lettuce as the most common source of vitamin K (followed by broccoli, spinach, romaine lettuce and Brussels sprouts).
And…Get Some Exercise
The other preventative step is exercise. Bones are sensitive to exercise and can be strengthened in the same way as your muscles. Staying active and doing a few key exercises will help prevent bone deterioration.
Weight-bearing Exercise
You do these standing up so that the bones support your weight. It’s as simple as walking, jogging, dancing or climbing stairs. Walking is the best idea — at least a mile a day — because it doesn’t cause much stress on the bones. Bicycling and swimming are not part of this type of exercise.
Resistance Training
These exercises are used to increase muscle mass and strengthen bones. Use free weights, weight machines or resistance bands to do this. You should add back-strengthening routines to this as well, which will improve your posture. Do ones that gently arch your back.
Cream from this Pepper Soothes Arthritis Pain
One of Science’s Best Food Cures
One of alternative medicine’s greatest pain relievers originates in spicy peppers called cayenne. This is best known as the red spice in the kitchen cabinet that delivers a fiery kick to any meal.
Before the plant spread across the world, though, cayenne grew in Mexico, Central America and South America. In the wild, they grow to about three feet in height, topped with white or yellow flowers. It is the plant’s fruit, its peppers, that are used in food and medicine. The ingredient that makes hot peppers hot is called “capsaicin,” and you will likely only find this term in health publications.
Here’s a little botanical history for you. Cayenne’s other name is Capsicum, and in Greek, it means “to bite.” This is supposedly in reference to the peppers that are so spicy and aromatic.
From Latin America, it made its way to India, where it was cultivated. From there, the cayenne plant arrived in Britain around the mid-1500s. The cayenne plant is from the same family as bell peppers and jalapeños — but what sets it apart is the incredible ingredient, capsaicin.
It is this central ingredient that acts as a strong analgesic. Who would have thought that the invisible inside of a cayenne pepper would hold such intense pain-relieving properties? It does, and, in fact, cayenne represents one of the most definitive and effective herbal medicines in existence. It is one of the few natural healers that crosses the boundary between traditional and modern medicine, as today’s physicians and old herbal practitioners both recognize its ability to relieve pain.
Creamy Relief: How It Works
In the 1970s, scientific researchers were trying to figure out just how capsaicin lessens pain. Over the course of about 15 years, they started to understand this potential — but went beyond the plant itself. Research into cayenne actually led to new views on how we actually feel pain, as we started to learn more about nerve fibers and receptors. From then to now, we’ve had many breakthroughs regarding information about this amazing herbal medicine.
First off, when you eat cayenne peppers, your brain receives a pain message. It then responds by releasing endorphins into the blood, which happen to be your body’s natural painkiller. If you feel a sort of “high” when eating hot peppers, you are feeling this endorphin flood.
Most often, though, cayenne is used in cream form and sold in health stores as a “topical” agent to relieve pain — most often, arthritis pain. It’s put right on the source of pain, and the cream is absorbed into the skin.
Then, the incredible starts happening. Capsaicin lowers the level of “substance P” in the area, which is a “neuropeptide” that relays pain sensations to your brain. The equation is easy: less substance P = fewer pain impulses = less pain. The more often cayenne cream is used, the less substance P will be available, and a tolerance to pain is put in its place.
Now, fast-forward to 1990, and a couple of quality studies put this all into perspective. The major journal Pain looked at all evidence to date and concluded that rubbing capsaicin on the skin relieves pain and itching by blocking sensory nerves, making it “particularly useful for treating pain” and yielding “promising results.”
Also that year, a journal that is dedicated to analgesics reported the breakthrough that carries through to this day: cream with 0.025% capsaicin is safe and has major pain-relieving effects.
Capsaicin vs. Pain: the Proof
Capsaicin has been studied for its effect on a number of painful conditions. It is known to be helpful for the following: osteoarthritis, post-surgical pain, nerve pain associated with diabetes, psoriasis, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, cluster headaches, migraine and undefined oral pain. What follows are its best, most reliable, effects:
Osteoarthritis
Capsaicin cream provides immediate short-term relief of arthritis. For best effects, it should be applied three or four times a day. One study found that just a 0.025% capsaicin cream worked significantly better than normal cream for osteoarthritis of the knee.
In another, 100 arthritic patients received capsaicin cream or placebo — those taking the chili-pepper ingredient had significantly more relief from pain, with 80% of them experiencing pain reduction after two weeks.
It’s been found many times over to be effective for osteoarthritis pain. Studies show that more than 40% of sufferers prefer capsaicin over other treatment choices like “NSAIDs” and “COX-2” inhibitors. The latter are only chosen over capsaicin if they are covered by insurance and hyped by doctors as being three times more effective than capsaicin.
Shingles & Psoriasis
It may help relieve “post-herpetic neuralgia” which is a potential complication of shingles. As a matter of fact, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a product called “Zostrix” specifically for this use.
For this painful condition, it works in the same sort of way as it does for the itchy, red skin of psoriasis. The idea is that itching follows the same pathway as pain — therefore, if capsaicin helps relieve pain, it will do so for itching, too.
It was proven in a study of 200 patients with psoriasis — even a 0.025% capsaicin cream significantly reduced itching, scaling, thickness and redness compared to the effects of a plain cream.
